Curvet

Pronunciation

• IPA: /kɜːˈvÉ›t/

Origin

From Italian corvetta, diminutive of corva, an early form of curva ‘curve’, from Latin curva feminine of curvus ‘bent, curved’.

Full definition of curvet

Verb

1. (of a horse) To leap about, frolic.
• 1963, Firelily, under him, seemed sexually aroused, she curveted and frolicked so about the line of march, covering five miles to the prisoners’ one. — Thomas Pynchon, V.

Noun

1. A particular leap of a horse, when he raises both forelegs at once, equally advanced, and, as his forelegs are falling, raises his hind legs, so that all his legs are in the air at once.
2. A prank; a frolic.----